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Backwards IT at Lloyd's is a joke

By by Michael Faulkner2004-04-08T00:00:00+01:00

Lloyd's is a global laughing stock over its archaic approach to IT, according to a leading e-commerce expert.

Speaking at a Lloyd's E-Skills seminar, RI3K chief executive Alex Letts said that because of its failure to adapt to the technological world, Lloyd's was held up as "an object of ridicule" in the financial sector.

He likened the market to the Amish dwellers of Pennsylvania who spurn modernisation.

"The lifeblood of this industry is data, but the arteries are blocked-up and blood cannot be pumped.

"Data has to be re-keyed and retro-spectively entered. It is not where it is needed when it is needed. It is inaccurate and expensive."

He also lamented the lack of inter-operability from XIS to Kinnect and other solutions.

He added that he hoped the new management at Kinnect would remedy what appeared to have been a "poorly strategised or badly executed" record.

Lloyd's head of business process reform Iain Saville said: "We all recognise the need to drive for contract certainty and electronic infrastructure in the market, working in tandem with LMP to improve client service and efficiency."